The New England Patriots are one of the most improved teams in 2025. Currently, they sit atop the AFC East with a 9-2 record, having already secured a victory over the Buffalo Bills. New England’s success this season comes from the continued growth and development of second-year quarterback Drake Maye.
Maye, who had a rough rookie season, is showing why the Patriots drafted him, benefiting from a better coaching staff led by Mike Vrabel. Maye’s quick rise this year has caught the attention of many around the NFL, including former Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.
How Did Cam Newton’s Comments Affect Drake Maye’s 2025 Season?
On last Friday’s episode of ESPN’s “First Take,” Newton called Maye and the Patriots’ success in 2025 fool’s gold because of their schedule. Although Maye couldn’t respond at that time, he spoke out on Wednesday.
He said, “Nah… I don’t even know what show he’s on. I think they get paid to make remarks and make certain comments. We’re just worried about what people in our organization think, and worried about what we think, and my teammates think. Everybody’s gonna have different opinions, so we just gotta go out there on Sunday and worry about ourselves.”
This led Newton to respond on Thursday morning’s episode of “First Take.” Newton said, “Drake Maye, respectfully, you’re having a great season, but I also put Drake Maye in the position where it’s like, yo, we don’t really know.”
“Drake Maye, respectfully, you’re having a great season, but I also put Drake Maye in the position where it’s like, yo, we don’t really know.”
—@CameronNewton doubling down on the Patriots being “fool’s gold” 🍿 pic.twitter.com/uDLE8j8Upi
— First Take (@FirstTake) November 20, 2025
While Newton’s comments may have some merit, calling Maye and the Patriots’ success fool’s gold might be going too far. Indeed, New England has only victories over two teams with winning records. However, in their wins over Buffalo and Tampa Bay, the Patriots led for most of, if not the entire game.
The Patriots’ victory against the Bills was a standout moment this season. In that game, Maye completed 73% of his passes (22 of 30) for 273 yards and made some clutch throws.
According to PFSN’s QB impact metric, Maye has an impact score of 89.0 in 2025. That ranks him as the third-best quarterback in the league this year. Compared to last season, this is a significant improvement. As a rookie in 2024, Maye earned an impact score of 74.1, ranking him as the 21st-best QB.
Seeing such a significant jump in performance proves that Newton’s comments about fool’s gold miss the mark.
